NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A months-long crackdown on crime and quality of life issues along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens has resulted in nearly 1,000 arrests, Mayor Eric Adams said.
The arrests are a result of Operation Restore Roosevelt, a 90-day operation that was launched in October.
More than a dozen city and state agencies and offices—from state police to the Queens D.A. and the Buildings Department—teamed up to combat various issues raised by residents, including prostitution, unlicensed vendors, retail theft and the sale of stolen goods.
In an update Wednesday, Adams and the NYPD said crime has dropped 25% since the operation was launched along a nearly two-mile stretch of the avenue in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona.
In addition to the 985 arrests—134 of them prostitution-related—the crackdown has also resulted in 11,831 summonses and 464 confiscated vehicles, including 419 illegal mopeds and ATVs, officials said.
Additionally, there have been 292 building inspections, resulting in 18 vacate orders and two locations padlocked for illegal cannabis sales.
More than 500 vendors were also inspected—leading to the confiscation of 94 propane tanks—and 223 “engagement” were made with homeless people.
Queens D.A. Melinda Katz said her office has processed 266 felony and 533 misdemeanor arrests since October and has also offered help to more than 60 people engaged in prostitution, nearly half of whom accepted assistance.
The operation is part of the Community Link initiative, which assigns city services as part of a rapid response effort to neighborhoods “facing chronic and complex quality-of-life issues.”
Adams said that while the operation has been a success, “our work here is not done — you will continue to see a police presence, as well as other various agencies in the corridor addressing quality-of-life and public safety issues.”